Saturday, July 21, 2012

After being turned down by the Aquino government,
several environmental advocacy groups have dared the judiciary to come
up with a ruling that would halt the construction of a 600-megawatt (MW)
coal-fired power plant in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In a petition
filed two days before President Aquino delivers his third State of the
Nation Address the party-list organizations Kalikasan and Kabataan were
able to drag along legislators and local executives from Subic,
Zambales, Olongapo and Bataan to be co-signatories.

At a press
briefing in UP Manila, both groups and the No. 2 Coal-Central Luzon
(No2Coal-CL) alliance, appealed to the members of the high tribunal to
issue a temporary tnvironmental protection order (TEPO) or a Writ of
Kalikasan ordering RPI to cease and desist from the construction and
operation of the coal-fired power plant.

“We ask the high court to
stop this threat to the environment and the people’s lives. The Central
Luzon region will be at risk for more pollution and disasters if this
coal-fired power plant is allowed to operate,” Kalikasan party-list
president Clemente Bautista Jr said..... MORE